Research Projects

Identity and Dissent: Exploring the Factors Behind the Druze Community’s Political Shift in Syria (2025–2026): Funded by a grant from the Leverhulme/British Academy, I am currently working on this project, which aims to explore the underlying factors driving the political shift within the Druze community in Syria, focusing on identity, regional influences, and changing allegiances.

Striking from the Margins: From Disintegration to Reconstitution of State and Religion in the Middle East (Central European University) (2019–2022): This Carnegie-funded research project examines the conditions arising in the military and political stalemate in the Arab East, particularly in Syria and Iraq. As part of this project, I worked on an individual research project titled State Devolution in Syria and Iraq: Tribal Auxiliaries in the Margins. I also co-edited a book titled Spoils of War in the Arab East: Reconditioning Society and Polity in Conflict with Professor Aziz al-Azmeh and Dr. Harout Akdedian.

Variations in Sectarianization in Syria (University of St Andrews) (2018–2024): Funded by a grant from the Danish Research Council, I am involved in a project led by Professor Raymond Hinnebusch and Dr. Morten Valbjørn at the University of St Andrews. This research focuses on the instrumentalization of sectarianism by both regime and opposition forces, as well as the competitive interference of external powers. The project also examines how the Syrian uprising has been framed in sectarian terms in both traditional and new media. The project culminated in an edited volume titled Sectarianism and the Civil War in Syria, to which I contributed a chapter.

Pastoralist Livelihoods in Asian Drylands (University of Oxford) (2015–2016): Funded by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, I participated in this project at the University of Oxford/School of Geography, led by Dr. Ariell Ahearn and Dr. Troy Sternberg. The project brought together scholars from across Asia to discuss the transforming boundaries, agencies, and risks associated with pastoralist livelihoods. The project resulted in the publication of an edited volume: Pastoralist Livelihoods in Asian Drylands: Environment, Governance, and Risk (Ariell Ahearn, Troy Sternberg, and Allison Hahn), published by White Horse Press, to which I contributed a chapter.

Identities in Times of Conflict and Displacement: The Case of Syria (University of Oxford) (2019–2020): Funded by a grant from the IKEA Foundation, I participated in this research project at the University of Oxford, titled Societal Belonging in Syria: Meaning and Boundaries of the Syrian "We". The project, led by Dr. Kathrin Bachleitner and Dr. Toby Matthiesen at the Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, explored how social identity is defined in Syria. It culminated in a special issue on Identities in Times of Conflict and Displacement: The Case of Syria, which will be published in Nations and Nationalism Journal.

Tribes and Tribalism: (Re-) Assessing Society in the Middle East and How We Talk About It (University of Maryland) (2019–2021): I participated in this research project, led by Professor Peter Wien at the University of Maryland, which examined the functions of tribes in the Middle East and the experiences of people who adhere to them. The project also critiqued the tribalism paradigm. The project included a symposium at Maryland University and culminated in the publication of a roundtable in the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, titled Tribes and Tribalism in the Modern Middle East, where I contributed a paper titled The Politics of Tribalization in Syria.

Keywords in Contemporary Media, Culture, and Politics (London School of Economics, 2020–present): I am currently involved in this research project led by Dr. Omar Al-Ghazzi. The project focuses on key terms used by Syria scholars to reflect on the lexicon of politics and culture in contemporary Syria. A special issue on the topic will be published in the Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, with a paper from me.

Tribe and State in the Middle East (LSE Middle East Centre, 2018–2019): Led by Dr. Courtney Freer at LSE, this project explored the changing relationship between the state and tribes in the Middle East. The project involved a workshop at LSE in June 2018, gathering prominent academics from anthropological and political science backgrounds. It culminated in a series of blog posts on the topic by the contributors.

Mass Violence in Syria (University of Amsterdam) (2019–2020): This collective research project, led by Professor Uğur Ümit Üngör, examined the modalities of mass violence in the Syrian conflict. The project aimed to build theory on mass violence and contextualize the specificities of violence in Syria. The results were published in the Journal of Genocide Research, where I contributed a piece on the ISIS massacre of the Sheitate tribe in Deir Ezzor in August 2014.

Secular Ideology in the Middle East (Roskilde University, Denmark, 2014): I was invited to take part in this research project by Professor Sune Haugbolle, where I examined the role of religion in state and society in Syria. As a visiting scholar at the Department for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at Roskilde University, I gave a seminar on my research and wrote a short piece on Tribes and the Islamists in Modern Syria.

SEPAD (The Sectarianism, Proxies, and De-Sectarianization Project) (Lancaster University, 2019–present): Led by Professor Simon Mabon, I am a fellow of this project, engaging in discussions, workshops, and conferences on the conditions that give rise to sectarian violence and transnational relationships along religious lines.

Journeys to Tadmor: History and Cultural Heritage in Palmyra and the Middle East (University of Bergen, 2016–2017): Funded by a grant from the Norwegian Research Council, I participated in this research project at the University of Bergen, which explored Palmyra's significance as a center of trade on the east-west route and its subsequent destruction by ISIS militants. I contributed to the project with an article about life in Palmyra before and during the Civil War. I also gave a public talk at the Bergen Museum during the opening of an art exhibition on Palmyra in 2017.